One of my favourite ever TikTok recipe trends is for Pesto Eggs! Not only is it ridiculously simple, it's also ridiculously delicious and goes to show that you don't have to leave the house to get a tasty breakfast! This is a seriously simple concept but also a pushy recipe Dear Reader.
The originator of Pesto Eggs is Amy Wilichowski. Lady is a genius. Amy's idea for pesto eggs is a simple concept: heat a frypan and add a couple of tablespoons of pesto (don't be stingy, I promise that it pays off in the end). As soon as it starts sizzling, crack your egg and add it on top of the pesto and the egg will cook on the delicious pesto flavoured oil. When the egg is cooked slide it off the pan with a spatula onto a plate or onto a slice of bread. Make sure to scrape up any of those delicious toasty pesto bits that have caramelised on the pan and drizzle back some of the oil onto the eggs. And that's it! I've been making this for lunch every day this past week and Mr NQN is delighted. Laura gave me a tip and that's to add chilli oil and hot damn if that isn't magical! We've had plain pesto, pesto and chilli oil and just chilli oil by itself (Mr NQN's favourite).
Tips for making Pesto Chilli Eggs
1 - Make sure that your non stick frypan is hot, otherwise everything will stick but once it reaches a high temperature reduce heat to medium high (6 out of 10 when 10 is the hottest) and cook the eggs on this heat as you don't want the pesto or chilli oil to burn.
2 - You may or may not need the extra tablespoon of oil depending on how oily the pesto is. Pestos do vary with the amount of oil in them so if your pesto is a little on the dry side, add the tablespoon of oil.
3- I also find it easier, from a purely aesthetic point of view, to use fresh eggs because they don't spread as much. The older the eggs, the more the whites spread.
4 - If you use bought pesto, use the refrigerated kind rather than the pesto on the shelves. I love this made using a basil pesto dip with the chunky bits of nuts.
Use Chilli oil to make Chilli Cheese Eggs: use 2 tablespoons of your favourite chilli oil (I loved it with Lulus Remedy Nduja Chilli Oil) instead of pesto. Melt cheese onto your toast and then top with the chilli egg.
Pesto & Chilli Eggs: Use 1 tablespoon pesto and 1 tablespoon chilli oil
Other ideas for your toast:avocado, feta, ricotta, cream cheese, tapenade or beetroot dip
Use flavoured oils: Use lemon agrumato or garlic olive oil instead of regular olive oil!
Apart from lots of pesto eggs I've also got some delicious things in the kitchen to share as part of the In My Kitchen series hosted by the delightful Sherry where we show you some fun things we have in our kitchens. My first is some dips from one of my favourite brands Fresh Fodder. They're a business founded by Max and Fiona Schofield based in Orange, NSW and like these pesto eggs, their smoky taramasalata is life changing. We always have a tub in our fridge, ever since Laura got me onto it. And they sent me a range of their dips including smoky and regular taramasalata, a spicy kalamata olive dip and a beetroot & tahini dip. They also gave me a little tip to mix the taramasalata with the olive dip together (I like 70% tarama, 30% olive dip). The story behind Fresh Fodder is also a really interesting one and the taramosalata is based on a recipe gifted to Max's father Jim. He owned a deli that was located between a brothel upstairs and next to a pawn shop. One morning he saw the pawn shop owner being beaten up by two bouncers from the brothel and intervened saving the pawn shop owner's life. The grateful Greek man gifted Jim the recipe for taramosalata and showed him how to make it and this was the item upon which Fresh Fodder was built!
The next item is from Monica. She knows how much I love chilli and this Bomba is a Calabrian chilli paste made with chilli, eggplant and mushrooms. It's delicious on pretty much anything savoury and has a medium level of chilli in it. It took me ages to open it up because I didn't want to ruin the cute packaging!
I also received a really nice package from Bok's Bacon, a third generation family business based in Hobart, Tasmania. It's one of my favourite bacons and all dry cured (I prefer dry cured as it crisps up better as wet cured adds weight and water). They use Australian paddock bred free range pork from ethical and sustainable farms in Tasmania and Victoria and has won lots of awards. I didn't realise that they now have sausages too which they kindly sent and I can't wait to cook up!
The last item is something that I bought from Harris Park. I love cooking Indian food and wanted to have some ghee on hand for a better flavour. I must admit that I was attracted to the packaging and that is what made me buy this!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you tried any of these products? And have you tried the pesto eggs?
1 tablespoon chilli oil (I used the chunky sediment part)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (I used a lemon agrumato olive oil)
1 egg
Step 1 - Make your toast so that it is ready for the eggs. Sprinkle cheese over bread and grill and once melted, place the toast on a plate ready. Heat your frypan or skillet on medium high heat. Mix the olive oil with the pesto and then add to the pan and then add the chilli oil sediment-I like to make a little "bed" for my egg. As soon as it starts sizzling crack the egg on top and fry the egg on top the pesto and chilli oil.
Step 2 - After a few minutes when ready slide the egg off and place on a slice of cheese toast. Make sure to scrape off the toasty, caramelised bits of pesto from the bottom of the pan and drizzle the oil in the pan back onto the eggs.
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